A Mess of A Multiverse
by tigress345
Summary: Join a world of different characters, parallel and alternate universes... and many other opportunities. Requests accepted. Rules & extra information inside. Mostly focused on Rise of the Guardians, but other requests are accepted so long as I know the universe we're talking about. [Cover & Summary up for rewriting]


**So, what exactly is this, might you ask?**

Well, it isn't something that hasn't been done. Basically, you are the customers (not that you pay with anything... but I do accept souls...) and you make the orders, for whatever drabble, poem, or short story that you want me to right.

This may benefit you because (if I succeed) you'll be to read a decent story that features something similar to what you are looking for without you having to take hours of your life - which can be hard to come by - to write stories. Also, it may be hard to piece together a story. It will truly help me more though because with some hope it will improve my writing and broaden my creativity. Besides, it's a nice challenge. I can't make promises when it comes to being able to write them.

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 **Before We Begin...**

\- This is somewhere where you can make suggestions. They can be as creative, or as personal as you like.

\- If you are going to make suggestions, be careful to be detailed enough but not too detailed with your requests. If it's alright with you, I'd like some creative freedom. But I also need to know some of the specifics. Things such as who the specific character is are optional, but however short or long the plot or theme is, it is required to state at least one.

\- Preferably the request should be between 10 and 300 words long.

\- I accept constructive criticism and relatively pleasant commentary, as well as simple opinions and reactions. After all, they're a part of a quality review. I will tolerate negative views on particular characters, but unless you have evidence don't flame the plot or grammar, until you're willing to write reasons why you think so. Okay?

\- I would like to say that I will try my best, but I also want you to know that I am not you. I can only go so close to writing a story that matches your expectations. I am also not perfect and I don't mind if you have issues, so long as you include the reason as to why this is.

\- Please state the format you want me to write the piece in. It'll be relatively important. However, if you don't mind - or are indecisive -, you're welcome to say so.

\- I will accept almost any challenges, but there are romantic pairings I will not do. Including:

Pitch X Sandy

Pitch X Jack - Some people would argue that this just isn't right because of the age difference. I'd say it's compatibility, which makes me question where I _can_ write for that pairing. Sorry, but if I do, only one-sided, with Jack being the interested one.

Pitch X Bunny

Pitch X North - Yeah, Nightmare Before Christmas was a good movie, good pairing... not so much. But that's just my opinion. Feel free to have and share your own.

Pitch X Jamie - Scarred for life with this one. So that's a definite no.

Tooth X North/Sandy

More pairings will be added (or perhaps taken away, if my mind changes), but my mind takes time to recall things.

\- Books prompts are allowed, but be ware that I am not all that familiar with them - I base any Guardians of Childhood fics from the snippets I've gotten my hands on.

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 **Structure of each page**

I will try to keep to the following structure:

Disclaimer

Challenge/Prompt/Request

Responses to reviews

Ratings & Warnings

The Poem/Story/Drabble

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 **To Begin With...**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Rise of the Guardians. I also have no idea why Pitch crept up into your closet and decided to give you nightmares, as he is not my responsibility.

 **Challenge/Prompt/Request:** Is that my cat? [Insanity if an art form - Tumblr - I just found it randomly] (Pitch Black & Jack - FRIENDLY ONLY)

 **Rating:** K+

 **Warning:** Eh... are you afraid of cats? If you suffer from Ailurophobia, you should escape to the closest spaceship immediately. Evacuate the premises, shut down your laptop - it can crawl through online and offline documents - burn EVERYTHING...

Or you can just sit by and read the story.

Also, set in a slightly alternate universe, circa. 20 years in the future.

 **Of Shadow Cats & Snow Days**

Ah, what a beautiful morning...

Pitch black streets came into view, with a thin veil of mist surrounding the streetlights and doorsteps. Few people were out at this time of day, save for grumpy adolescents forcing themselves out of bed early in order to get a shower and let their hair dry before another school day sets in. There were, of course, a few adults, some already crowding around the nearest Starbucks in a desperate desire to gulp down some coffee before another shift starts rendering them into zombies.

For the likes of the Nightmare King himself though, it was a day as perfect-looking as could be.

Except, the grouch was not on the surface, albeit having the chance to catch a few more whimpers from kids still huddled in the duvets on their beds. Instead, as fate would have it, he found himself darting from one corner of his lair to another, trying to catch an almost invisible fiend in the shadows of his home.

"Give that back, you fiendish creature!" he hollered after the ebony feline who so skillfully evaded his every lunge, vanishing in one corner of the room and then appearing on the complete opposite side at the blink of an eye. There seemed to be a smile, playing in the cat's eyes, as it held the locket clamped between a few dozen sharp teeth. It was a cunning terror, that much was certain. And on any other day, in any other situation, Pitch would have even dared say that he was proud of this creature's uncanny abilities.

Today was not that day.

Unfortunately, by his next leap into the unknown, finding himself crashing into a wall instead catching the moon-damned cat, Shadow had already taken a dash for the exit. Paws scampered soundlessly against the rocky surface and off into the dim lights that brightened as the exit grew near.

With a scowl and a shake of the head, Pitch decided that he had no chance but to follow the cat. Lest he'd lose two more things precious to him.

* * *

Jackson Overland Frost corkscrewed through the air, as always making the best use of Wind's help. He laughed to himself as he flew across Burgess, testing his daring acrobatics in the midst of another blizzard of snowflakes. "Snow day!" he announced to the world.

By then, the light was starting to rise and there seemed no better time to cover the ground with ice, frost, and snow than now. Besides, Jamie would understand. Even if the little kid he once knew had grown up. The years haven't changed him one bit. Still a Guardian on the inside.

He dove into a crowd of children, a few of which waved at him, laughing and giggling merrily. "Jack Frost, Jack Frost," they would call. Oh, how he loved kids. He loved their belief, their joy, the way they laughed and played in the snow. So unlike most of the adults in the world. He smiled at them, landing just a few feet from a group of kids busy having a snowball fight. Chuckling as one of the kids toppled over as a snowball hit him, he decided to join in.

'Just a little bit of fun...' he thought to himself, as he let his magic work, a thin blue lair illuminating the newly formed sphere of snow in the palms of his hand.

Before he could even aim, he heard something else. Words. Not to do with him, or the snowball fight. No, actually, one word. "Cat!" the children seemed to cheer, their attentions averted. He blinked owlishly. As he turned he could see a black feline padding through the snow.

A shudder past through him. He'd never been particularly fond of cats. Especially black ones. As a creeping sign of misfortune, that easily snuck into people's hearts, he couldn't help but be skeptical about them. Especially this one, which walked with such lightness in its stride and how it stole attention. He found himself suppressing a glower of envy, as the kids surrounded it, cooing at it in a pitiful attempt to get the proud animal to come to them.

Instead, it shot Jack a stare. It peered directly into the soul. Orbs of molten gold sent shivers down his spine. And he couldn't quite say whether it was because of the beauty that Jack found himself enamored by, or knowledge behind them. It seemed to _know_ him. It seemed familiar. From the way, it walked to the way it seemed to look every human in the area up and down, observantly, rather than out of any real care or interest. Then, a corner of its mouth rose and Jack could swear that this cat - a cat of all things - had smirked at him. It padded over, uncomfortably close for comfort, circling Jack. Nudging his leg, nuzzling him. Jack shivered, standing as still as possible.

It was then that Jack noticed the item hanging from the creature's mouth. A locket of metal - though what sort it was he could only guess - dangling from the cat's maw. Encrusted with the most minuscule of minerals and gems. Shining brightly, despite the light coating of dust. Then he spotted the details of the cat's fur. Jet black, but thin and whispy, like mist, or cirrus clouds, like cotton candy... of a shadowy, anything-but-solid consistency.

The cat looked up at Jack and then away. Perhaps it had stopped viewing Jack as interesting, much like the rest of the world.

No such luck. He was forced to watch it, from the corner of his eye, as it sat down just a foot or so away from him.

* * *

He could have sworn he'd searched everywhere! Every hiding place, every favorite spot that Shadow had. Where was that ungrateful creature? The crafty cat?

Frustrated and disappointed all at once, Pitch found that the worry in his mind was eating away at his sanity. Library? No sign of him there. Kitchen? No. Dungeons? Nope. Secret rooms? Not a whiff. Bedroom? Nada. Guest rooms? Not there either. Armoury? The now-no-longer-super-secret-weaponry cabinet? No and no. Ballroom, dining room, training hall, globe room, one of thirteen bathrooms...?

'When I get my hands on him...!'

The gaps he'd had to squeeze through, the indignities he'd put himself through, to no avail.

As a last resort, he figured he would have to step out into the human world. He may have dreaded the very thought, but it couldn't be helped. Besides, there was only one exit Shadow could have used his limitations to have far he could travel and where he could cope as well as the bindings Pitch himself had put in place to ensure his world - and by extension that mangy tom-cat - would stay safe and secure, from the prying hands and eyes of the Guardians.

He'd made sure of it some time ago.

So reluctantly, he closed his eyes, letting the shadows envelop him. As they snapped open again, he found himself near that very pond where he'd once been beaten. Burgess. 20 years ago. The memory chilled him, sickened him, shamed him.

It was hard to let go of the past. Even for the spirit of Fear. Whom had always been paranoid that it would happen again.

Even now, the place whispered to him, giggling at his failures. The breeze would mock his ears, poke his frustrations and rub at his afflictions. He sighed. Now was not the time for self-pity. As his eyes swerved around, overlooking the frost-laden land, he couldn't quite dismiss the group of laughing children messing around. He scowled, disgusted by their merriment that only echoed the name, Jack Frost. What he would give to take away those ignorant smiles and replace them with something much more amusing. Much more useful.

Jack Frost was king here, alas. Burgess was his icy kingdom three months in a year. Sometimes more, if the other spirits permitted it. Then the rabbit's. Sanderson's. Tooth's. North's. Even the moon had more power over the children here than he himself. At least a part of MiM - his home and his symbol - was visible to the children of earth. Not pushed away, ignored or hated.

He pushed the thoughts away, along with a branch that wouldn't budge. It did finally, only to slap him in the face as it swung back. Hissing as the stinging sensation promised a red mark on his face, he trudged through the frost.

Speaking of the Devil...

Jack Frost himself stood, like a statue just a few meters from the kids. Oh, how he wanted to slap the boy for his ignorance, his ill manners, his...

 _'Shadow...?!'_

"Alright, that's enough," Pitch hissed under his breath, stalking up to the spirit of winter. The cat seemed to be perfectly content - perhaps brainwashed and ridden oblivious - huddled at the sprite's feet. Despite oddly hesitant, the spirit leaned down at that precise moment, unaware that he had just made things worse, by accident.

"Jackson Overland Frost, you'd better not be attempting any of your brain-altering magic on my cat," he growled as he stepped up to the boy.

The boy's eyes widened and he stumbled back. The cat yowled as he almost stepped on the tail.

"Explain yourself," Pitch ordered, prodding Jack's chest with a sharp-nailed finger. Honestly, those nails looked almost like claws so up-close.

Jack gulped. "I have nothing to do with - wait..."

It seemed to click inside the boy's head. He lifted the cat to his chest, almost utterly bereft of the fear he'd once felt. That seemed to give him advantage and boy, did it trigger Pitch. Positively furious, his eyes twitched as he was tempted to make this spirit's life a nightmare simply for taking something precious away from him.

"So... does that mean the locket is your's too, by any chance?" Jack cocked his head to the side, grinning.

The nightmare king turned a few shades paler. "Give. That. Back," his voice fell low. "And the cat."

Shadow simply watched, lightly amused and somewhat in pain, nursing his injured tail in his paws. Between the two spirits, the tension was unbearable. Well, at least to a child it would be. To a feline like himself, a shadow cat, it was the perfect entertainment.

"Who knew the boogeyman, of all spirits, was such a softy...?" Jack cooed.

Oh, the brat was enjoying this far too much. Grabbing the feline and locket from the white-haired male, he clutched them both tightly. Though Shadow seemed more or less unaffected by the suddenness of him. He just watched, occasionally glancing up to his "owner". "As for you, you treacherous feline, we'll talk about this," Pitch promised lowly, which caused the cat to shiver. A talk meant he was in trouble. Especially if treacherous and feline were in the same sentence.

Then, the dark spirit looked back at Jack.

For a moment, they just stared one another down. Then, Pitch left, knowing Jack would win if it ever came to a fight and head held low, he walked away. If Jack had looked inside... If Jack had seen...

"I didn't mean to offend you!" he heard a familiar voice call at him. For the last time that morning, he turned back.

"I just... didn't think there was a half-decent bone in you..." Jack explained, shrugging his shoulders sheepishly and smiling. Not mockingly. Not cruelly, coldly, or in an abhorring fashion. "I was surprised, 'is all."

Pitch blinked. He wasn't certain of what to say. Of all the things, the possibilities that ran through his mind, all the premonitions... this was not something he could have ever thought possible. For the longest time, he stayed utterly frozen, before nodding slowly.

"You know..." Jack looked towards the cat. "Until now, I was always afraid of cats... more than drowning... or even you."

That made the corners of Pitch's lips twitch upwards.

"But... they turned out fine. It did," Jack continued, gesturing towards Shadow, who seemed pleased by the praise. "Well, what I was going to ask... if you don't mind... I- uh... canitmaybecomebacksomeday?"

The shadowy man raised a non-existent eyebrow. "I think the name you're looking for is Shadow," Pitch corrected, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah... Shadow. Can she visit? I mean- if you want to - well you can- or maybe not- but if you want to, you and I can... talk?"

"I'm not entirely certain which of us you wanted to talk to, but I can assure you Frost, neither of us are female and neither of us is looking for a male in life," Pitch responded, with a humourless laugh. The cat, feeling insulted by being supposed a female finally turned it's back on Jack.

"That's now what I... I mean... Just forget it..." Jack grumbled, bright red and discouraged.

Pitch smirked. "But if you're looking for a companion, I'm sure Shadow wouldn't mind turning your life into chaos in exchange for a few treats."

The redness disappeared and Pitch could have promised he'd just returned someone's hope. Well, that was new. "There might be some treats for the Tall and Lanky guy too," Jack agreed, the teasing behaviour returning.

"Don't push it."


End file.
